Prestige Chair
Akan: Asante (Ashanti) People, Ghana
Wood, brass, leather
Early 20th century
Dimensions: 41.4 x 21 x 22.5 in. / 61 x 53 x 57 cm
Provenance: Alain Lecomte/Gallerie Abla, Paris
Most seating in Sub-Saharan Africa were low stools. In the sixteenth century, Portuguese explorers and traders introduced chairs with backs. African artists quickly improved the design with local motifs, which became status symbols for chiefs and dignitaries. This fine example is for a second-tier dignitary. Chairs for first-tier dignitaries would have arms.
Price on request
